Connect the Dots
by Pharaoh Caraboo
Summary: Mariku was not normal. He had a nasty smile that shook your spine, and hands that could easily break your neck. He was gruff. Cruel, really. A typical jock; fitting as he was a football member. And yet Ryou, an infamous Touzuko, was attracted. And he finds out quickly, there is something odd about that scary, beautiful boy. Deathshipping. Thiefshipping and Puzzleshipping implied.
1. Post Summer Blues

Hot sun beat down, nearly relentless if it weren't for the soft breeze and the cloud dappled sky, moving swiftly over tall buildings. Ryou brushed back his long white hair as it was mussed about by the wind, smiling as he grasped the warm metal railing of his apartment balcony. If only summer wasn't ending today, he might not feel so teased by the genuinely nice weather. Shaking his head, he turned to look inside his shared abode, sliding door open to keep the house cool-ish. There was Bakura, splayed out on the couch, book in hand.

"Bakura, is that all you're going to do today?" He asked, sauntering over, brow quirked. His cousin grunted as way of response, lifting the book closer to his face. Ryou snorted and snatched the book away from him, which had the pale teen scrambling to sit up, eyes narrowed and dangerous. He stepped away, holding the book warily as Bakura glared.

"What do you bloody want?"

"Nothing. I was just hoping you'd actually do something today. Aside from illicit activities." Ryou added quickly, placing the book into Bakura's expecting hand.

"I'd rather not get sunburnt, thank you." He considered this, noting that Bakura did get burned far easier than he, somehow.

"You go and… be weird with your friends." He waved a dismissive hand, closing his eyes and settling on the couch again. Ryou kicked his ankles with a huff, and with a soft sigh, drifted away from his doppelganger and into their shared room. He ran his hand over the old bed they had found alongside his older brother on the side of the road. Lugging it back had been hell and required a lot of refurbishing, but it stood strong several years later. Besides, it was free. Bakura's side of the room was cleaner, but not by much. Just by a haphazardly made bed and some stolen jewelry, and papers from who knows what, while Ryou had several RPG figurines and paint and carving knives strewn about his side. He reached for his charging phone, lips pursing. Joey was no doubt busy, out with Tristan most likely. Tea wouldn't be back from her trip to America until later in the evening, so that left Yugi. With a pause, he started texting. It wasn't long after that that Ryou found himself hurrying over to the Kame Game shop, leaving Bakura to his own devices. On warm days he could at least trust him not to destroy the place.

Fifteen minutes later, he had arrived and gotten settled behind the counter, offering a brief smile at a customer. Yugi waved before he went back to chatting with the woman. The five foot nothing teen smiled and talked cheerfully while at the same time gently suggesting she look at this game, it might interest you, please. Ryou watched in awed silence, and ten minutes and three more games on the receipt later, his friend was waving her out the door.

"Yugi, when did you become a car salesman?"

Yugi tossed back his head and laughed, amethyst eyes bright as he settled down. "What are you talking about?"

"You're evil."

The thin teen grinned. "Thank you."

Idly, Ryou noticed Yugi had obtained snakebites over the summer, and that led him to believe he wasn't imagining the little glint of silver he caught inside his mouth when Yugi talked. Noticing the staring, Yugi prodded Ryou on the arm. "Don't start. Atem had a fit, and so did Jii-chan."

Loosening up, he laughed softly. "I can see that happening. Doesn't Atem have pierced ears, though?" The spiky-haired teen shrugged. "He says it's different. I think it only started bothering him because his lip got caught in one…"

"Oh. How is Atem anyways?" He interjected quickly, not wanting Yugi to mindlessly give out too much information. Leaning against the counter, Yugi looked up at the ceiling and shook his head. "I can't believe he's a senior. He's busier than ever. Which is fine!" He added quickly, head snapping back to look at the albino. "I can't ask for him to not do work all because I'm bored or lonely. Er- not _lonely, _that's too strong, but…" Cheeks tinging red, he shook his head, fiddling with his blond bangs with short fingers. "Never mind. He and I go on little dates when he does have time, and he's such a romantic." He started smiling at that, genuine warm happiness in his eyes. "Even though he gets flustered so easily."

Ryou nodded slowly as he listened, cracking a small smile at his friend as he went on. The class sweethearts. "Knowing Atem, he'll probably set aside plenty of time regardless." The spiky-haired boy laughed softly and nodded. "I hope. I imagine we'll be pretty busy this year too. I mean, juniors!" Ryou shrugged at that. "Everyone says that the next year will be hard, though." He pointed out. "Not saying it won't, but probably not as bad as last years' juniors said."

Yugi pursed his lips. "Dunno, Atem was pretty busy."

"Yugi, he was in two AP courses."

A pleasant bell chimed, and some younger students ran in, ranting about buying the latest game, interrupting their conversation. Yugi smiled and was back in his salesman mode, while Ryou tried not to get flustered when one of the eight graders asked if he was a girl as he reached for a pack of trading cards.

* * *

Getting to school was a terrible rush. Dragging Bakura from bed was a pain, and forcing him to eat something while getting dressed and grabbing backpacks and yelling and complaining all the while before running out the door. Ryou was panting softly, legs wobbling by the time they reached the doors of Domino High, while Bakura shook off any exhaust and disappeared into the crowds of students. Off to steal binders and notebooks from unlucky teens, no doubt. Shaking his head, Ryou adjusted his satchel and weaved through the student body of Domino, straining to spot a familiar face. He hardly heard the heavy footsteps behind him, closer and closer until-

"Ryou! How's it goin'?!"

"Ack…! Joey, I can't breathe!"

A rough noogie and a loud laugh, alongside a loosening of a grip was all he got in reply. Ryou made several very indignant noises, kicking and grabbing at his arms while he managed to choke out a soft chuckle.

"Joey! You're going to choke him!"

Oh sweet gods above, Ryou was never so glad to see Tea in his entire life. Joey groaned, but released the albino complaining at the brunette as she jogged over. He had to laugh gently as the two engaged in playful banter, following them through the school.

Yugi, Atem and Tristan joined them, and the group quickly caught up on going-ons. Atem still looked miffed about the snakebites, while Tea sort of laughed about it.

"I'll admit, I kind of urged him to get them…"

Atem gave her a look of aghast annoyance while Ryou noted his lip was indeed torn.

The bell chimed loudly and they grabbed their things, waving bye for the time being, hustling off to class. Biology, Algebra, History, among a few other assorted electives. He could sense Yugi had had a point- homework would likely be piling up. Entering the class, he noticed a few things quickly. One, there were two new students. And two, they were very clearly foreign and one was very cute.

Whoops.

His cheeks tinged red, settling at his desk. Well, cute in an aesthetic sense- to Ryou anyways. Bronzed and muscular, angled jaw, and messy blond hair, plus those strange murky violet eyes he had glimpsed. Very pretty. Although both of them were similar (perhaps related in some way), one was much thinner, sitting ramrod straight in the desk, gazing about through unimpressed lilac eyes. His voice was lilted with a slight accent that the girls in the class found very attractive. The other, the muscular one, was slouched in the desk, legs shoved within the metal basket of the desk in front of his, although he seemed equally bored to be there. He screamed nothing but trouble.

Then again, Ryou was a Touzuko. They seemed to have a knack for falling into strange things, but this Touzuko was trying very hard to break that chain. It certainly wasn't helping that the slouched foreigner had noticed his continued staring and prodded the one beside him, muttering something with a quirked brow as he pointed. The albino made a noise and quickly turned around while the teacher demanded attention, calling the girls away from the desk of the two.

"As you've noticed, yes, we have two new students. Marik and Mariku Ishtar, having come from Egypt, are here with family and will perhaps be staying for the rest of the year."

Related, then. Ryou swallowed, risking a hesitant glance over his shoulder at the two again. But which one was which, he wondered idly, before he let out a gentle yelp as the muscular Ishtar caught his gaze again and grinned at him with all the grace and loveliness of a meat-starved coyote. He turned around swiftly, his ears hot and his eyes wide. Of course he had to be awkward.

He looked forward to the class being over.

The bell chimed and students shot up, grabbing bags and books to scurry off to next class. Ryou held back, swallowing before he approached the Ishtars with a smile.

"Hello! I'm Ryou Touzuko and-"

"You were staring a whole lot at me."

Ryou blinked his pale mahogany eyes, looking up at the one who had spoken. The handsome one.

"That was quite rude of me," Ryou said quickly, cheeks tinging red, "I'm sorry."

The blond grinned that awful grin again. "I'm Mariku. The twig is Marik." He said, bending to grab his bags while Marik rolled his eyes, weaving past Ryou. "Nice to meet you. Come on, Mariku." He said quickly, glancing behind at the Touzuko and his brother. Ryou flushed briefly, dipping his head as Mariku shuffled past.

"Um, you too! I'm willing to help if you need it. Okay?" He said quickly, following them out the door. Marik waved a hand, while Mariku said nothing, instead opting to shove his brothers' shoulder as he ran past, letting out a cackle. The albino watched as they ran and pushed and shoved all the way to class, wondering why, why he felt obligated to help out everyone.

* * *

He met his cousin as they walked out the school doors, bags heavy with syllabuses and books. Ryou gave his doppelganger an odd look- Bakura had a severe scowl upon his face, jaw set.

"Bakura?" He stepped on his black converse shoe to get his attention.

"Bloody Ishtar." Bakura growled harshly. Ryou blinked at him oddly, head cocking to the side. "Ishtar? The twins?"

"Yes, them! One of them! _Marik_," He hissed lowly and clenched a pale fist, blue veins popping out on the transparent skin. "He rigged a bet. I lost thirty dollars." Confusion gave way to amusement that Ryou worked hard to hide.

"Bakura," He pointed out, "half your bets are rigged." He said with a pointed look. The albino grunted.

"He rigged the damn bet. Then he says, 'Pretty boys like you shouldn't be doing such shady things.'" Bakura was seething now, face red from rage and embarrassment, sharp teeth clenched. "Can you believe that? Then he asked for my fucking number!" He threw hands up in exasperation, while the shorter albino fixed the raging Touzuko with an odd look.

"How did you respond?"

"I told him to go bugger himself and leave me alone, or I'd bash his fucking head in. He just laughed and walked off. Just walked away." His fingers twitched, as did his right eye and the corner of his right lip. "He spends the rest of the day acting more stuck up than Seto Kaiba and teasing me. I hate him so damn much. Smug bastard."

Ryou licked his lips, running fingers through his hair. "He sounds kind of like you." He said, which earned him a murderous glare from Bakura. Gulping, he adjusted his backpack and ran ahead, speeding up when he heard indication of the pursuit he had been expecting by his cousin. When he arrived at the apartment, he grabbed the keys, including the spares, dashed inside and slammed the door shut and locked it, refusing to let Bakura in until he had calmed down. Upon opening the door, Bakura stalked in and went to change into some long, black clothing before heading out again.

"Don't get caught by the pol-"

_Slam._

Looks like he would be having dinner alone. And he might was well pull out a med-kit, just in case. Bakura often needed them after coming back from his occasional nightly thefts.

_**A/N:**_

_**Oh boy! First chapter of my first fic, Connect the Dots! This is highly AU, and is the first of three installments. After this comes Sketch it Out, and then Colouring it In, following senior year and freshman year of college, respectively. This fic, as stated, will focus on the pairing of Deathshipping and will have not so subtle side helpings of Thiefshipping, Puzzleshipping, and possibly a few others. This particular fic will remain T, and that WILL NOT change. There will be many things implied for other pairings and eventual heavy makeouts, sure, but nothing incredibly explicit will occur.**_

_**There is a plot for this, but the main gist is something I'm keeping secret for now, but it does have something to do with the art themed titles. I also may, if requested, do a side-fic or follow up fic focusing on, say, Thiefshipping or Puzzleshipping set in this particular AU. They will likely be shorter fics. **_

_**Tea is an enabler. You go little punk rocker Yugi. Yeah, that's my headcannon that Yugi gets piercings. The snakebites and tongue stud aren't the end of it, trust me.**_


	2. Infamy and Odd Questions

By the time Bakura had returned from his angry excursion earlier, Ryou was asleep. He blinked awake at the sound of the apartment door creaking open, sitting up and rubbing at his bleary eyes. His heavy orbs flicked briefly to the clock that illuminated his bedside.

_2:34_

After a soft sigh, his feet touched the rough carpet, tugging down the long shirt he wore to bed as he padded heavily into the dark living room. Already adjusted to the dark, he weaved through the sparse furniture and shelves that held his collection of figurines.

"Welcome back, Bakura."

"Go back to bed," Bakura rumbled, huffing softly as he shucked off undoubtedly sweaty clothes, his form a silhouette in the window.

"Not until you clean up after yourself."

There was more grumblings, and Ryou placed a hand on his waist while he watched his cousin pick up the clothes and dump them into the laundry room. There was the unmistakable sound of very shiny trinkets tinkling as he gathered things up, which had the pale boy shaking his head and sighing. Upon his return, Ryou tossed him the med-kit.

"Thank you very much. Now bandage yourself up and get to bed." The albino instructed with a soft yawn, turning away to head back to sleep. Faintly, he heard a mumble, and feet plodding off.

His clock blared noisily at 5:30, upon which the chaotic morning routine began again. He was able to assess the damage his cousin had received, which was thankfully minimal. A bandage on his cheek, chin, and a fat, bruised lip. Bakura caught the look Ryou gave him and scoffed. "Don't be getting so prudish on me now, cuz." He lifted up his hand, and on his fingers the necklaces and bracelets glittered and writhed like gold snakes, precious gems glinting enticingly amidst the expensive jewelry. The young Touzuko felt his fingers twitch, leaning forward as if to grab them away from Bakura and examine them himself-

They were snatched away from his face quite suddenly, and his cousin roared out a laugh.

"_H-Heheheheh_! You really are a Touzuko!" Bakura yelled raucously, a smug grin splitting his lips. Literally, as the cracks that they contained started to bleed, oozing slowly. He swore and stood, stuffing the gold into his pockets and grabbing for a box of tissues to tab at the excess blood before resorting to licking it away. Ryou wrinkled his nose, ears still hot after he nearly succumbed to the desire to steal. "Gross." The albino merely snorted and chewed on his pale and bleeding lips.

"Breakfast. Eat." Ryou demanded, annoyance tinging his voice. Bakura merely chuckled through mouthfuls of sausage in compliance.

* * *

Grateful to be getting to Domino High in a timely manner, Ryou was allowed to relax while Bakura brushed by him, off to ask about bets and collect any payments owed to him.

Running fingers through his thick, curly hair, Ryou sighed gently, sitting down on a staircase, watching idly as students filed in. Many now were slouched and tired, sick of waking up so early for a second day. Yugi was quite the opposite, bright and chipper as he jogged over to greet his friend, a grin on his face.

"Someone's happy." The Touzuko said with a soft laugh, Yugi settling down beside him.

"I hadn't noticed." Replied the teen with tri-coloured hair, eyes twinkling as he fussed with his blond bangs.

Ryou shook his head. "I don't get it. How?"

"Oh, no real reason…" Yugi trailed off, mischief on his tone as he turned his head. Doing so, he noticed Atem, whom he waved over. Ryou noted Atem looked a touch tired, but no less happy. There was a hug that was a bit too tight and long to be a mere greeting, and the look they shared as they pulled back slightly, noses brushing, had Ryou shuffling a little closer to the wall.

"I'm still here, remember?" He said, voice cracking with a nervous laugh, gripping his knees tightly. Atem's tanned cheeks flushed, standing up quickly, arms coming down on his sides.

"_Yes_! You are!" Boomed the senior in his loud, baritone voice, startled and flustered. His eyes went wide and he choked into a clenched fist, falling completely silent. Yugi shook with muffled laughter, reaching up to place a sympathetic hand on his boyfriends' side. "Ahem. Sorry, Ryou." Atem said finally, glancing down at the pale teen who flushed. "No, it's fine, just…"

The moment was thankfully saved from being any more awkward when Joey joined them, Duke and Tristan bickering from behind. Ryou and Atem both relaxed and welcomed the group, Joey prying the two fighting behind him apart and forcing Duke to interact. Their conversation over summer jobs, progress made, faded into the background noise as Ryou crossed his arms over his legs, once again watching as the students shuffled inside. Plenty of familiar faces from previous years. His chest gave a nervous clench when he spotted the Ishtar twins walking in, swallowing as he remembered their one and only conversation the day previous. Did he go up and talk to them? Would that seem weird? The pale teen frowned, shaking his head. Yeah, creepy. He watched as girls ran over to fawn over the foreign boys, chattering excitedly. Marik seemed much less adverse to the crowding, and held his head up at an arrogant angle, a smirk playing at his lips, while Mariky crossed his well-muscled arms, brows furrowing into a sort of annoyed glare.

"-Mariku on the football team!"

Ryou's ears perked metaphorically, and he leaned forward to eavesdrop. Oh, he wasn't ever going to rid himself of his awful family name. He had to remind himself he wasn't nearly as bad as Bakura. Or his brother.

Mariku's feet shuffled, rolling his eyes before he spoke.

"Yes, I wasn't there for no reason."

"Oooh, wow! I'm sure you'll be great." They swooned, gazing appreciatively upon his arms.

Marik frowned, then said something unintelligible, pointing a finger, and the girls tilted their heads.

"Cheerleading? So you're a flexible guy? Isn't that a bit girly?"

The blond merely scoffed and said something testily, as if it was obvious, and Ryou jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder.

"Ryou, you were spacing out. Everything alright?" It had been Joey whose hand was on his shoulder, but the group all looked at him with concern. He flushed, nodding. "I'm fine guys. I swear." He added, trying to soothe their nerves as they glanced briefly at one another. Tristan stole a glance at the direction his pale friend had been looking in, and huffed. "Those Ishtars? I don't like 'em. Stealing my thunder."

"What thunder?" Duke demanded with a laugh. "How could they steal something nonexistent?" Tristan jolted and whacked him upside the head, triggering another loud argument. Ryou was just thankful when the bell rang.

He ended up stuck in one class with only Marik, who went ahead and sat next to him. Ryou gulped.

"Uh, hullo again."

Marik's lilac eyes flicked towards him, and he nodded briefly. "You're Bakura's relative, correct?" He said quickly, leaning towards him. His accent made the pronunciation of his cousins' name sound like "Ba-koo-rah."

"Yes," Ryou began slowly, leering slightly at the tanned blond as he leaned away.

"Hm. Good. Do you have his number?"

Ryou balked, giving him a somewhat offended look. "Yes, but he doesn't seem to like you much at all." He said, his miffed tone high and lilted with his own British accent. "So I refuse to give it to you if you're just going to harass him."

The gleam in Marik's eye told him that he hadn't often been told no. Lips a thin line, the Egyptian glared briefly before a smirk played at his lips. "Alright. I get it. Kekeke…" Ryou shuddered at his laugh; it was awfully creepy. He had a feeling this probably wouldn't be the last he'd have Marik asking him for such things, not that he would divulge such information about his cousin carelessly. Regardless, the blond glanced at him very often during the class. Ryou was quite ready to get out of that hour, and was up and out of there when the bell chimed.

But of course, the next class contained Mariku. Ryou felt himself being examined by his murky eyes, chewing nervously on his lip and hunching his shoulders.

"Ryou Touzuko, right?" He finally said, head cocking to the side as the pale teen turned around.

"Yes. Is there something you want?" Ryou said slowly, expression suspicious. Mariku waved a dismissive hand at him. "Nothing, really. Just that I believe my brother and your cousin got into a brawl." He said nonchalantly, shrugging as he glanced out of a window. Ryou's stomach gave an unpleasant lurch, eyes going wide. He resisted the urge to stand up quickly and instead clenched his palms. Soon enough, a grainy voice spoke through the loudspeaker-"Ryou Touzuko, please come down to the office."- and, sighing, he left his things where they were and dutifully plodded down to the office, where his cousin was sitting, arms and legs crossed. Tissue was stuck up his nose and his eye had been bruised, along with his cheek. He saw Ryou and cackled.

"You should see the other guy."

Ryou knew this was not some pride-fulfilling joke. He shot Bakura an annoyed and angry look regardless, stalking over to the principal to explain things quickly. Soon after he lugged his cousin from the office, glaring ahead.

"Thank you kindly cuz." The Touzuko chuckled. He stepped back as Ryou whipped around, anger glinting in his gaze.

"Did you pick a fight?" He demanded, to which Bakura put up his hands submissively.

"Not really. He came up and tried to steal my phone. I reacted. But of course, I'm a Touzuko Troublemaker." The albino laughed loudly, shaking his head as he walked past Ryou. The teen shook his head and sighed, running fingers through his hair. Teachers and students often called them that in whispers. He could do nothing else but hurry back to class, where Mariku gave him odd looks for the rest of the hour.

"I-is there anything else?" The pale teen finally asked, turning to face him with a flustered, annoyed look upon his face.

Mariku tilted his head. He grinned. "No. Ryou, I just think you're very entertaining." He said, placing his chin on his hand while he gazed at the other junior. Tensing up and flushing slightly, his lips pursed into a thin line as his pale cheeks coloured.

"Is that a compliment?" He risked asking once he felt as if he could speak, brows furrowing a touch.

Mariku laughed-"Kekekeke!"; just like his brother- and his grin widened. "Maybe." He finally replied, and Ryou felt his heart have a mini-aneurism at the roguish look that accompanied the blond's features. With mahogany eyes wide, he sniffed and turned around stiffly, while Mariku cackled silently behind him.

"Oh. Ryou, one more thing." His voice dropped to a whisper. Ryou took a slow breath and turned around, eyes closed. "Mariku, I do not want to be messed wi-"

"No, I'm done messing with you for now." The Egyptian said quickly, meeting Ryou's hesitant gaze once his eyes did open.

"Then, what?"

A pause. "What are the school colours?"

Ryou's expression turned curious. "White, blue and black." He said, pointing to the corresponding colours of his uniform jacket and shirt. "Wouldn't it be obvious?"

The tanned teen frowned, eyes flicking down to the shirt while he concentrated on the colours Ryou had gestured to, as if memorizing them. Noticing Ryou was still watching, he looked up and sneered. "Thanks." He said, then averted his gaze for the rest of the class, acting aloof all over again in any conversation attempt. Finding it odd, Ryou reciprocated the act and felt a bit awkward. By class end, his hands felt clammy, wondering if he had done anything wrong and quickly shuffled out to clear his head.

With the rest of the day being uneventful, Ryou was surprised to see Marik later that day- his nose looked distinctly crooked now, not to mention the swollen eye and jaw. However, he seemed rather content to have the girls swooning over his wounds. The Egyptian caught Bakura's gaze and grinned at him briefly, which had Bakura bristling with absolute rage. Ryou was glad to get his cousin out of school that day.

* * *

Later in the evening, school over and things winding down, and after badgering Bakura to bring out his homework and do it, they were both startled when his phone buzzed. Bakura lifted it and frowned.

"Unknown number." He said, shrugging as he lifted it to his ear. There were brief words exchanged-

"Hello?", "…No." and, "If you call me again I will tear off your arms and shove them up your anus."

The phone was promptly slammed down on the table.

Ryou blinked, a little startled at Bakura's mild outburst.

"Who…?"

"Ishtar," He spat the name as if it were some forbidden word, teeth clenched viciously. "He got my bloody fucking number." He swore angrily several times over, tapping his fingers on the worn pale wood. The phone did not buzz again that night.

* * *

_**A/N: Wonder what Atem and Yugi were up to, eh? ;D Ta-dah! New chapter. Glad to have a positive response so far. I'm going to attempt and update every week, likely Wednesdays or Thursdays, but no promises because school. On another note, this fic will likely have about 10 chapters. possibly 12. I'm not very good at stretching things out, heh... **_

_**Anywho, please R&R, it's a morality booster!**_


	3. Apologies from Author

**_Not another Update_**

**_I apologize. But Connect the Dots is more or less on hold until I am un-grounded.  
I'm sorry, second semester swooped in and whupped my arse!_**


End file.
